Packing in a winter wonder land. Jake couldn't have said it better, "Get me out of this North Pole!"
I know I never thought I would be moving for the fifth time in eight years of our marriage. I never thought I would live in St. Louis, and not just live there but love it! I never thought I would grow to love Richmond as fully as I do today. And I giggle because of the great memories we had in all of them. All the places that we have lived have been perfect for us. We have grown as a family and become closer because of it. I can't imagine living the past eight years any other way. I know we were meant to experience all of those things and I know we are meant to be in St. George. Hind sight is 20/20 and as I look back on the last few years the things that didn't make sense now make perfect sense. We had a great opportunity to buy our dream lot in Cache Valley and when we went to close on it just didn't feel right. Later we tried to get a home loan and it just wasn't working. Other business opportunities on the side that Justin tried to pursue like a health store and sports complex somehow just all seemed to fall through the cracks. At times we felt frustrated and confused like nothing was working out and we couldn't figure out why. But know we know that these doors were closing because we were being led to another door.
For Valentine's day we took a quick trip to St. George. There is a special place in our hearts for St. George. While I was attended school at Dixie College Justin would come to visit. Some of our fondest memories we have of our dating days took place over looking the St. George valley and talking about our dreams. It was there that I knew I someday would marry that boy and all of those dreams would come true, and my world just felt right.
Well on this little vacation a few months ago, little did we know that we would be staying right below Justin's future office.
(Justin's office)
As we drove around we saw people riding their bikes, running, hiking, swimming, playing tennis, all the things we had been longing to do for so long. Justin and I looked at each other and said, "I love it here!" My heart ached to be back in St. George. The day after we returned back to Cache Valley Justin was talking with a doctor in Salt Lake about his weekend in St. George, and as luck would have it this guy mentioned that he knew a practice who was looking for a new Dr. and said he would give him his name and they could get in contact with him. Well with in a few days we were on our way back to St. George for an interview. We thought we would give it a shot, if even just to ease our minds. They loved Justin, what's not to love, and they wanted him to start in a month. We debated all the way home, making lists of pros and con's. We weren't looking for a job, Justin had a thriving practice in Cache Valley, our families were there. It was all just a little surreal. We crunched numbers and compiled our lists and went home and we prayed on it. That next morning we both looking at each other and knew exactly what we needed to do. We needed to take it, it was just too good to pass up, and just felt right. We knew we would need to move out of Justin's parent's home in a few months but this was sooner and farther then planned, but it was perfect timing.
Due to unfortunate circumstances at work, Justin had to leave his office in Cache Valley sooner then planned and within five days of the interview his uncle dropped everything to come and help. He drove up from Cedar City and helped him move all his stuff down to his new office. This was a very trying week on all of us, full of a roller-coaster of emotions. He called his new office and they said he could start right away. Justin lived in Cedar City with his amazing aunt and uncle for a few weeks and then some great friends for a week while he looked for a place to live. Luckily I have an amazing friend who is like a sister to me who lives in St. George who helped him find an awesome place to rent two doors down from Justin's cousin, with lots of little kids in the neighborhood and a community pool.
(How cool would it be if we lived on Traveller Terrace. We even learned that it is one Justin's relatives private drives.)Unfortunately I had to stay a few more weeks in Cache Valley to pack and clean and get everything squared away so that the kids and I could move down over Ty's spring break. It has all happened so quickly and so out of the blue that it was like a whirlwind just blew us here. I couldn't have survived the past few months without family who came up to help load all our stuff and my amazing parents who slaved away day after day for weeks cleaning every nook and cranny of my in-laws house and packing all my stuff. They really went above and beyond. I don't know what I would do without them, they are my lifesavers. My brothers even sacrificed a lot of their spring break to help move us in, they were all so helpful, and I love them so much! I will miss them so much, but we are all hoping to move them all down here sooner then later!
Being greeted by the sun was a welcomed change from the snow! It's amazing what a little sun can do for the soul!
I know the Lord works in mysterious ways and answers our prayers. We love Cache Valley and there is alot of family members and friends who we will greatly miss, but St. George is perfect for us! We are excited and look forward to exploring and experiencing new things. We have loved every minute since we have got here. Here are a few of our adventures from the past month.
We arrived late Friday night and the next morning was Easter weekend. We were lucky the Easter bunny even found us! We even managed to make it to the community Easter egg hunt.
Over spring break some of our good friends came down and we were able to spend some time with them. We went to a fun Pirate Pizza Island restaurant with an arcade and slide. We also got together with them and a bunch of our other friends from high school at Dani's for a BB-Q, it was so much fun to see everyone.
Ty started Kindergarten at his new school and loves it! His favorite part is the snack and less homework!
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We were lucky after we moved in we got a flyer that our community was having a yard sale that Sat. we had a ton of stuff that we no longer needed that we were hauling to D.I . so we decided to see if we could sell it. We make $200. and we bought this jeep from our neighbors. It is the best $40. ever spent, the boys LOVE IT! This is where the boys want to spend most of their time.
And they are off!
Our aunt Denise told us about this beautiful canyon that is just two minutes from our house with creeks, trails and and 100's of frogs. We had a good time hunting for frogs, we even caught a few. Taycie discovered the joy of cat tails and skipping rocks. The kids didn't want to leave. We are glad it is so close.
The first few weeks we lived here there was a bird that would bang over and over into our window. The windows are tinted from the outside so that you can see your reflection from the outside. The bird thought that it was running into another bird I guess. We lovingly called it Crazy Bird. Every morning I would hear the kids say, "Crazy Bird's back!" They got a kick out of watching it ram over and over into the window. I'm sure it died of brain damage.
Justin's secretary gave us some free passes for miniature golf at Fiesta Fun. We had so much fun! We may just have a few pro golfers on our hands.
When the boys are away the girls will play. Justin and Ashton both were gone one weekend for seminars so Dani and I took the kids to the kite festival. It wasn't windy enough for much kite flying but we had fun watching the entertainment and playing the games.
We have been spending A LOT of time swimming at the Community Center down the street. They have the largest aquatic center in Utah and it is so much fun! The kids beg to go swimming everyday.
This is the Place!
And as we have come full circle back to the spot overlooking the St. George valley as we did 10 years ago, talking about our goals and dreams, once again it just feels right! Justin's practice is doing better then we imagined. In his first his two months of being here he is already seeing as many patients a day as he was seeing in Cache Valley. I'm so proud of him. He's been working so hard to get his name out there, and all his hard work is paying off. We feel very blessed! We are excitited to see the ways our family will grow and to see our dreams come true here in St. Gorgeous (as we call it) together!
